If Oregon is so solidly blue, why should a Portlander bother voting this year?

Dr. Know
Oregon is a die-hard blue state—and anyway, since the
conventions, Obama’s been running away with the election. So, as a
Portlander, why should I bother voting? —Derpa the Sherpa
We’re no
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News
The two mayoral candidates, State Rep. Jefferson Smith and former City Commissioner Charlie Hales, turned in their responses to the Portland Business Alliance's candidate questionnaire recently. Their entire answers are worth reading but of particular note are their responses to the PBA's question about the proposed $3.5 billion Columbia River Crossing project, which is a top priority for the business ...
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News
The Oregon League of Conservation Voters today blasted the campaign of mayoral candidate Charlie Hales for what the environmental group says is "unethical and possibly illegal use of endorsement interviews."At issue is a story WW posted last week quoting Hales' opponent State Rep. Jefferson Smith. In his OLCV interview, Smith suggested that as mayor, he could round up 2,000 volunteers and pave the ...
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News
A story in this week's WW shows Portland officials—including Mayor Sam Adams and both mayoral candidates—scaling back the city's anti-Walmart stance as the shopping giant's mobile-software division, WalmartLabs, moves into a downtown office.But Walmart is also making concessions to Portland culture. As reported in the Daily Journal of Commerce on Monday, the new Walmart breaking ground ...
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News
Yesterday the Oregon League of Conservation Voters endorsed State Rep. Jefferson Smith (D-East Portland) in the mayor's race. That's a coup for Smith, who already earned endorsements from other enviro groups including the Sierra Club and Bike Walk Vote. “Jefferson Smith is the environmental candidate for Mayor," OLCV executive director Doug Moore said in a statement. "Jefferson is always out front ...
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News
Wednesday's Wall Street Journal highlighted Portland's streetcar in an article about several other cities hoping to emulate our system: Cincinnati; Kansas City; Atlanta; Ft. Lauderdale and Salt Lake City. The article contains at least one quote sure to please mayoral candidate Charlie Hales. He's not mentioned in the story but oversaw the development of the streetcar when he served as city commissioner ...
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Hales and Smith debate their geek credentials

News
Mayoral candidates Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith faced off in a tech-focused debate at the downtown office of local online video start-up Elemental Technologies today. Portland's tech industry was previously considered to be backing Eileen Brady, and now the remaining candidates are looking to establish their credentials in the city's so-called "software cluster."Although the talk was often ...
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Maybe lacking an opinion is a good idea.

Murmurs
For the first time in recent memory, The Oregonian is taking a pass on the presidential race. The daily told readers Aug. 14 it won’t endorse a candidate for president. Insiders say Publisher N. Chr
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